Jamie Oliver is back on the nation’s case, this time launching a new initiative to get British people cooking wholesome food.
The chef, who has previously kicked up a storm with his School Dinners series on Channel 4, has chosen Rotherham to kick-start his latest movement, with a £130,000 Ministry of Food opened yesterday in the south Yorkshire town.
The new facility, part funded by Oliver and part by the local council, will act as a drop-in centre for anyone who wants to learn how to cook or to receive nutritional advice.
The centre will feature in a four-part Channel 4 TV series this month, and Oliver’s plan is to roll the “Pass It On” scheme out across the country, and encourage people to share the knowledge they gain and use it in their home.
“A large percentage of the country haven’t been taught how to cook or don’t realise it’s a good laugh,” he said. In School Dinners, the place where I didn’t spend enough time was in the home. It’s the Holy Grail, where it’s all happening.
“I thought, ‘Is the government going to do anything radical to help? No’. So my instinct is that we, the public, have to get things going.”
He added: “The magic bit is Pass It On. I’m a great believer in the British public and I know they respond if the information is there.
“If I were in government, I would make it compulsory for children to be taught 10 dishes that will save their lives and I would put a Ministry of Food in every town that needs it. I’m proud to be British and, healthwise, I don’t want to see us going down the road we’re going.”
